All posts by KidsEyesJax

Hi, I’m Anderson and I am lazy. Well, my right eye is lazy, not me. Actually, my right eye used to be lazy, but it’s not any more. Here’s my story about my lazy eye and how I was able to fix it. In first grade, I found out I had a lazy right eye. […]

Cole’s Story: Don’t Delay Seeing a Pediatric Ophthalmologist Growing up, Amanda was in glasses by the age of three. When it came time for Amanda to start her family, in the back of her mind she always knew it was a strong possibility that any child she would have would need glasses, too. Even though […]

When is eye patching recommended? Patching is recommended when children are diagnosed with amblyopia or lazy eye. It works by occluding the eye with normal vision so that the vision in the poorer seeing amblyopic eye improves. – aapos.org (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) If you are like Cole’s mom from the previous […]

Trust Yourself and Call Pediatric Eye Consultants Ectopia lentis et pupillae sounds like a strange and exotic disease one would contract while traveling internationally. While it is highly unusual, it is actually a rare, genetic eye condition that both of my boys, ages 8 & 10 have inherited. Somehow, my husband and I have this […]

Dawn N. Duss, MD – Ophthalmologist in Jacksonville, FL Our world is a growing sphere of choices. As knowledge grows and technology advances, so do our options. Even a simple errand of running to the store to get laundry detergent can stop you dead in your tracks as you see a whole dedicated isle of […]

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Hi, I’m Anderson and I am lazy. Well, my right eye is lazy, not me. Actually, my right eye used to be lazy, but it’s not any more. Here’s my story about my lazy eye and how I was able to fix it. In first grade, I found out I had a lazy right eye. Actually, it is called amblyopia, but that is a hard word to pronounce. Basically, I don’t see very well out of my right eye. Fixing lazy eye usually requires patching. I wasn’t interested in looking like a pirate in my first grade class, so the doctor decided to see if wearing glasses would be good enough. Several years later, I decided it wasn’t good enough. It really bugged me that part of me was being lazy. I also learned that for some careers, 20/20 or better vision is needed. Since I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I needed to get my lazy eye working. In November, I started seeing a doctor who specializes in treating kids with lazy eyes. Her name is Dr. Duss. She explained that vision is a process between your brain and the image coming from […]

Devin is a remarkable young man quick to discern if someone he encounters is kind or not. In a short space of time he will let you know if he wants you near him. As a bonus, his mom Sharon states, it sure helps your cause if you are a pretty girl. Vision Care and Down Syndrome Devin is thirty years old and has Down syndrome. “Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosone 21. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. All people with Down Syndrome experience cognitive delays, but the effect is usually mild to moderate and is not indicative of the many strengths and talents that each individual possesses.” (ndss.org) Down syndrome does not define Devin, but it does affect his ability to communicate. Throughout his lifetime, Devin has seen every kind of doctor imaginable. Even though he happens to be non-verbal, he has no trouble letting everyone know with his actions when someone he meets in the medical field does not make him happy. More often than not, he does not take kindly to them. This can be quite […]

Life Can Change In An Instant For Tiffany this instant came in the form of a car accident. Back in November of 2010 Tiffany was in a terrible accident that completely changed everything. She experienced a Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a stroke which left her with physical challenges and an aneurysm of the optic nerve which caused vision loss and made her eyes criss-cross. According to Tiffany’s mom, Wanda, she wasn’t even expected to live through that first night after the collision. That’s when I realized that in speaking with Tiffany, I was speaking with a walking, talking miracle. While interviewing Tiffany, I could tell immediately that she had a lot to share about her journey. She was living in Miami when all of this began and had received care from a variety of specialists including an ophthalmologist. This ophthalmologist eventually performed surgery on Tiffany to straighten her eyes, but did not address some of the cosmetic aspects that were still a concern to her and her mother. After moving to Jacksonville and being seen by Dr. Charles Duss at the Atlantic Eye Institute, he immediately recommended that Tiffany should go to his wife, Dr. Dawn Duss, because of her […]

Treating Strabismus In Young Children The Story of a Big Brother, Little Brother & Eye Patches When I first started understanding the scope of my son J.R.’s vision challenges, it was a lot to wrap my head around. It took me a long time to accept that the genetic structure of his eyes and lenses weren’t conducive to natural, easy vision. Fairly early in our discovery of his extreme near-sightedness, it was determined that he needed to begin patching his stronger eye to help his other, weaker eye catch up. Even though as a mom I was completely overwhelmed by the uncertainty of his vision future, I was also fiercely determined to do whatever it took to give him the best shot at seeing 20/20 out of either or both of his eyes. This meant I was faced with the daunting task of patching a two-year old dynamo who never enjoyed being told what to do. First things first, I had to catch him before I could even occlude his stronger eye. As determined as he was to throw temper-tantrums and remove his patch, I was equal to the task. It took every last ounce of my emotional reserves to […]

Adult Strabismus Doctor in Jacksonville, FL Obviously, with the word ‘pediatric’ right in the name of Dr. Dawn Duss’s practice, it’s pretty clear that improving the sight of children is one of her specialties. While Dr. Duss has proven her skill and ability time and time again with children, it’s important to remember the techniques and training she utilizes have also been perfected by her extensive experience with adult strabismus. Dr. Duss has been operating on adults her entire career and was “trained specifically in this area during my fellowship.” While on staff at Nemours, she maintained an academic rank with the Mayo Clinic located in Jacksonville. This meant that she was highly regarded there and was frequently consulted on adult strabismus cases. During this time, the number of adult strabismus cases was relatively small, as she had to schedule them on her own time. Once she opened her own practice, “the adult population has exploded!” What exactly does it mean to have strabismus? “Crossed eyes, or strabismus, as it is medically termed, is a condition in which both eyes do not look at the same place at the same time. It occurs when an eye turns in, out, up […]

Adult Strabismus Can Be Corrected A little over two years ago, Mr. D was dealing with a diagnosis of Graves’ disease. “Graves Disease is an immune disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones. About 30 percent of people with Graves’ disease show some signs and symptoms of a condition known as Graves’ ophthalmopathy. [This means] inflammation and other immune system events affect muscles and other tissues around your eyes.” – mayoclinic.com Mr. D fell into this 30 percent. His eye symptoms manifested in an extreme inward turning of his right eye. For the next several months, Mr. D was repeatedly told by his doctors that there wasn’t anything to be done about the misalignment of his eyes. They said that hopefully, over time, ‘mother nature’ would help reset his eyes as his thyroid levels were stabilized with medication. They told him to be patient, and he was. Then, as six months passed, then a year and then yet another year, he did not have any improvement. He was starting to get very frustrated. One day while expressing this frustration to his group of doctors, they had an idea. They knew Dr. Dawn Duss personally and professionally, and had […]

Cole’s Story: Don’t Delay Seeing a Pediatric Ophthalmologist Growing up, Amanda was in glasses by the age of three. When it came time for Amanda to start her family, in the back of her mind she always knew it was a strong possibility that any child she would have would need glasses, too. Even though she knew this, once her son Cole was born, this thought quickly faded into the background. Amanda was immersed in the care and duties of parenting and with Cole’s development on track, she didn’t have time to think or worry about the specifics of his vision. Once Cole had reached school age, Amanda was quickly reminded that he might need some vision correction. While part of her was not surprised he had failed a vision screening at school, another part of her felt that he was still functioning well. She admits she “kind of dragged her feet” when it came to getting him seen by an eye doctor. All parents can relate to this hesitancy. With so many parental obligations and the responsibilities of running a household, it is difficult to make the time. After hearing more about Cole and Amanda’s story, this will be […]

When is eye patching recommended? Patching is recommended when children are diagnosed with amblyopia or lazy eye. It works by occluding the eye with normal vision so that the vision in the poorer seeing amblyopic eye improves. – aapos.org (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) If you are like Cole’s mom from the previous post, hearing that your young child needs to wear a patch can be very daunting. Young kids are not known for their patience or their calm reasoning abilities. They don’t like to sit still and certainly don’t want something covering the eye in which they have stronger vision. Speaking from my own experience, when my oldest son was twenty months old and confirmed as legally blind with strabismic amblyopia (a turned in eye and weaker vision in his right eye), I was ill-prepared for the fight ahead. As we waited the ten-weeks for his extremely high-powered glasses to be created, I begin to think of ways to get my toddler ready for the patching power struggles ahead. At the time, we lived in a cold climate and he needed to wear a hat to keep warm. He would constantly fight me on this and continually […]

Trust Yourself and Call Pediatric Eye Consultants Ectopia lentis et pupillae sounds like a strange and exotic disease one would contract while traveling internationally. While it is highly unusual, it is actually a rare, genetic eye condition that both of my boys, ages 8 & 10 have inherited. Somehow, my husband and I have this recessive gene that expressed itself not once, but twice in both our children. It is so rare, I have only connected with three other families that are dealing with the same condition in their children. She often said that realistically, they would never have the vision-clarity to be fighter pilots, but we could let ourselves believe they could drive a car someday. I really appreciated how she gave us reasonable ‘attainable hope’. Ectopia lentis et pupillae with lens subluxation (dislocated lenses) is as confusing as the name implies. Thankfully, with the help of pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Dawn Duss, we have been able to manage the boys’ condition beautifully. My oldest used to be legally blind, even while wearing glasses and now sees 20/25! When we first learned that he was off-the-charts nearsighted, we never dreamed he would have such excellent vision. Dr. Duss is the […]

Dawn N. Duss, MD – Ophthalmologist in Jacksonville, FL Our world is a growing sphere of choices. As knowledge grows and technology advances, so do our options. Even a simple errand of running to the store to get laundry detergent can stop you dead in your tracks as you see a whole dedicated isle of detergent brands. The number of choices can be overwhelming and being that you already are a time-crunched parent, what do you do? Choosing an eye doctor can feel like this. Where do you start? How do you know which option is the best? How can you make the best choice in the shortest amount of time and still feel confident your child is getting the best care possible? For me, when faced with choices of any kind, I like to hear other people’s perspective. If someone else had a positive experience, then I am more likely to choose the same option. Today, I would like to be that person for you regarding choosing a pediatric ophthalmologist. My family’s positive experiences with Dr. Dawn Duss as an eye doctor and as a person will make choosing Pediatric Eye Consultants one of the easiest and quickest choices […]